Tensions
by AquilaTempestas
Summary: Saturn has noticed the growing tension between Jupiter and Cyrus, and begins to suspect there is more to their love-hate relationship than it appears to be. [ORIGINALLY UPLOADED 2015]


Saturn has noticed the growing tension between Jupiter and Cyrus, and begins to suspect there is more to their love-hate relationship than it appears to be.

A/N - Another oldie. It saddens me there isn't much Galactic story love out there.

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Things were rather tense around the Galactic headquarters these days. Namely, things were tense between Jupiter and their leader, Cyrus. Just this morning Saturn had narrowly avoided a vase being thrown at his head after upsetting Jupiter. The woman had been acting more aggressive than usual of the late and Saturn suspected it had something to do with Cyrus's coldness towards her.

Of course, Cyrus claimed nothing had changed. Jupiter had done poorly and he was punishing her for her mistakes in hopes she'd learn from them. Naturally, Jupiter had taken offense to his dull words and protested for hours, calling him a hypocrite. It was getting quite ridiculous – a couple of days was understandable, but a week had passed.

"The fighting is getting out of hand," Mars said, lounging on the couch, a chocolate bar in her right hand. "I think we should do something about it."

Saturn sat down next to her. Despite not being related, Saturn saw Mars as if she was a little sister to him. He'd do anything to protect her, even if it meant taking the blame himself. "What do you mean? Like intervene?"

"It's quite clear to me that Jupiter has a crush on our boss."

Saturn raised an eyebrow. How in the name of Arceus had she some to that conclusion? "You're crazy. Jupiter doesn't like our boss! And anyway, even if she did, he'd never act on it! He doesn't feel, remember?"

Mars rolled her eyes. "Of course he does. He threw a tantrum the other day when I knocked his coffee over his desk. I'm telling you, this act he has up is going to drive him crazy one of these days. I think he should do something about those repressed feelings of his – I'm sure Jupiter would be more than willing to lend him a hand," she said with a wink.

That could only mean trouble. But still, he was curious to know more. "Hmm… I never thought I'd say this, but I think you're right, Mars. Jupiter does seem to take everything Cyrus says to take offense. You think she has a crush on him and she's just pretending to hate him to convince herself she doesn't like him?"

She nodded. "It is possible." She leaned forward, a devious smirk crossing her face. "What do you say to causing a little mischief? Arceus knows the boss needs to let out his frustrations on someone before it consumes him."

Sounded dangerous, but amusing. "He's going to kill her, you know that right?" Cyrus wasn't exactly known for having deep and meaningful talks about feelings. You'd have a better heart-to-heart talk from one of those smart bots online than get anything out of Cyrus, the master of masking emotions. He must be close to bursting though – a couple of years of this was surely driving him wild. "But… I am curious as to how this turns out. You have my support."

Mars gave him a wicked grin, and a part of him wondered if he had done the right thing. He could only hope it would end on a positive note. He really didn't want to end up on janitor duties for a month again.

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Jupiter was sitting in her bedroom busy looking through the pages of some magazine when Mars entered the room. She sat down besides her, and was surprised to see the pages of the magazine were wet. Had Jupiter been crying? "Jupiter? Are you all right?" Mars asked softly. She may have argued with Jupiter from time to time, but the truth was, she deeply cared for the older commander. Jupiter was a like an older sister to her.

Jupiter lifted her chin up and looked at Mars deep in the eyes. She was correct – Jupiter had been crying. Her eyes were red, and her cheeks swollen. "It's nothing. Don't mind me."

"You're not convincing. What did Cyrus do this time?" There was only explanation behind her tears – Cyrus had punished her again.

There was a long pause then Jupiter replied. She sighed. "He's threatening to demote me," she said, her bottom lip beginning to quiver. "He thinks I'm falling behind, that I'm the weak link of the team." Tears started rolling down her cheeks. "I don't understand why he hates me so much. All I've ever done was give one hundred percent to the team."

Mars wrapped her arms around Jupiter and gave him a comforting hug. "I'm sure he doesn't hate you. This is probably his way of dealing with overwhelming feelings – you know what he's like. He lashes out when he's faced with something unfamiliar to him." Not that Cyrus would ever admit that of course. He was far too proud. "I know you like him, and-Jupiter, don't try to deny it. You're always giving him the 'I-want-to-jump-you' look."

Her friend grumbled, her cheeks turning a deep shade of red. A-ha. So Jupiter _did _like the boss in that way after all. Excellent. Now all she had to do was lock them up in the office together so they could sort out their feelings. Charon had hacked into Cyrus's security system changing it so Cyrus's door would be locked from the outside rather than from the inside.

All that remained was getting them both in the same room, but Saturn had that part covered already. Just as she expected, a voice spoke through the intercom in the room. "Jupiter, please report to my office at once," said Cyrus. Mars did her best not to smile – she couldn't spoil the plan not while it was going exactly to plan. Poor Jupiter looked horrified – she actually paled.

"This is it. He's going to demote me, and I'm going to have to sleep with the grunts."

Mars helped her to her feet. "I'm sure everything is going to be fine. Besides, if he fires you, Saturn and I will quit. Now pull yourself together and visit the boss. Don't think of the worst thing to happen." She gave her an encouraging pat on the back then started to walk with Jupiter towards the boss's office.

Cyrus looked up from his table. Jupiter and Mars were both standing at entrance waiting for permission to step inside. He nodded. "Please, come inside." Jupiter looked at Mars, and Mars nodded.

"Have fun you two," Mars said. Before Cyrus could question her, Mars dashed out of the room, slammed the door shut and said, "Lock the door now, Charon! They're both inside!" There was a loud clicking noise and some maddened laughter coming from the other side. Jupiter hurried over to open the door but it was locked.

"They've locked the door! I can't believe it! They locked me inside here! I'm going to die…" Jupiter panicked. She started banging on the door, but her attempts proved futile. Bloody sneaky commanders. How dare they try to outsmart him, he, the boss of this organization! Oh, they were all going to pay for this dearly once he got out… But first – he had to deal with a certain useless commander.

He stood up from his desk and strode over to Jupiter, backing her into a corner, until her back pressed up against the wall. Jupiter was tall, but she seemed to shrink a few inches this close. He glared down at her. "You did this. If this is some foolish attempt to enact some form of revenge against me, I assure you, you will be fired the moment I manage to unlock these doors."

She glared up at him. "That's right – you blame me! You're always blaming me for something even if I wasn't the one involved!" she retorted. "Mars, Saturn and Charon did this! They saw how you're always mistreating me, so they decided to do something about it!"

So, his commanders had banded together to support this miserable wench. What did they see in Jupiter that he did not? As far as he was concerned, Jupiter was nothing more than a simpering weakling, always failing to carry out the most menial of tasks. "You are punished because you fail to carry out my orders."

"But you don't punish the others! Mars, Saturn and Charon have failed you multiple times, yet you still treat them kindly in comparison to me! I have done nothing wrong but pledged my service to you, and you treat me like I'm nothing!" Her eyes began to water.

Damn tears, Cyrus thought. He hated watching women cry. He had seen his mother crying many times thanks to her husband's abuse, and always knew those tears were as a result of internal suffering. Did Jupiter feel the same way? "Cease your tears," Cyrus said. "I will not tolerate signs of weakness in my headquarters. Do you understand?"

"You're such an asshole!" Jupiter suddenly cursed, drawing her hand back. Before Cyrus could defend himself, Jupiter brought her hand forward and slapped him across the right cheek. Hard. He could feel the sting. "Oh my… I'm sorry! I didn't mean to!" she protested, her eyes with fright. No one had ever dared to slap him before. This was a first.

"Commander…" he said through clenched teeth.

"You deserved nothing less!" She poked him in the chest. "You're always so mean to me and for no apparent reason! You don't deserve happiness because you're such a horrible hypocritical bastard!" She was trembling from anger now. Cyrus had always known her to have a temper, but never did he expect to be on the receiving end of her rage. It was a position he wasn't familiar with. "Don't you see it? I do everything for you! I joined up with Galactic for _you! _Because I _love you!_" She then froze, as she realized what she had just confessed.

Jupiter loved him? Huh. It was unexpected. He had always assumed she had hated him. It was for that very reason he treated her poorly because he was convinced she despised him. Those who worked for Galactic had to serve him wholeheartedly, and he thought Jupiter had been plotting against him for quite some time. "I… uh…" For once, he was lost for words. The anger he felt from being slapped, had faded now, replaced by something else he couldn't quite label.

Tears spilled down her cheeks. "Don't even say anything! I know you don't care for me at all, and I shouldn't be surprised. You care for no one but yourself, because you're an arrogant blind fool!" The anger in her eyes dimmed, her tone softening. "I hate that I love you, but I can't change that."

Cyrus was beyond confused. Women were very strange creatures. One moment they were raging mad, and the next, they were at peace with the world. Perhaps he was putting his research funds into the wrong area – perhaps he should be funding money for scientists to figure out how to understand the minds of creatures known as females for it was truly puzzling. What did Jupiter want from him?

He was so distracted by his thoughts, he could not react in time when Jupiter leaned in, and pressed her lips against his own. It was such a foreign action to him that he pulled back immediately, startled. "What has gotten into you, commander?"

"They're not opening the door until we've resolved the tension between us."

She expected him to play along to this? "I don't-"

Jupiter silenced him with a kiss again, and this time, he did not pull back. Never would he have thought that something so simple could feel so… good? He may not have experienced much when it came to these sorts of moments, but his mind had conjured up many interesting fantasies involving such things at night [he would never admit that aloud of course].

Surely, it wouldn't hurt just to go along with it… just this once? If anyone asked, he would simply say he was 'carrying out an experiment for scientific purposes'. Yes, that sounded plausible enough. No one would question that. Right? His thoughts were silenced again when he felt her arms snake around his neck, pulling him closer to her. Instinctively, he placed his own arms around her slender waist, holding her in place.

Jupiter seemed to be encouraged by this, and pressed against him harder, her urgency increasing. He discovered, much to his surprise, that he found himself wanting more. _Much _more. It was a disturbing thought, and only served to remind him that he was just as flawed as everyone else. Damn hormones. He could fake emotions, but you could never hide what the body desired.

She pulled her lips from him then led him over to the table. He watched her with intrigue – what did she plan to do next? Jupiter placed her back against his table and motioned for him to come over. He did without hesitance. "Looks like you're not as in control as you claim to be," she whispered. Was that a challenge?

He stood in front, looking down at her once more, cupping her chin with his right hand. In those dreams of his, Jupiter was calling for his name, repeating it over and over again, as he gave her what she wanted. There was something about it that made him feel quite satisfied. It made him feel like he was the most important person in the world, and to have his own commander moaning his name… The more he thought about it, the more encouraged he felt. Would she behave like she did in his dreams? Only one way to find out.

With one swing of his arm, he pushed everything off his table, and onto the floor. He'd worry about the mess later. He gently pushed her down on the table then climbed on top. The table did creak, but fortunately, it was sturdy enough to hold both their weights. "Feeling eager?" Jupiter teased.

"You should be punished for what you have done today," he replied in between breaths. "But I think… you can make up for it with other means…" Ignoring the impulse now was impossible – best to go along with it, and put to rest that ravenous hunger that he had kept controlled for so long now. He leaned down to kiss her again then pulled back, eyes moving down to fix on her chest. She giggled, all former anger forgotten.

Her eyes moved downwards. "Feeling a little stiff, are you? Do you need my help?" She moved her eyes up again, smirk crossing her face.

"Commander…" he replied, voice laced with longing and desire, both of which made him hate how weak he sounded.

She moved her head up and met his lips with her own, then pushed him up, and rolled out beneath him. He raised an eyebrow, confused. Was this part of her game? Or… "I wouldn't want to complicate our relationship. You are my boss, and I'm just your lowly servant." Before he could protest, she swung her legs over the side of his desk then stood up.

"But I thought…"

"That I wanted this? I do, believe me, but not like this. I need to know we're both on the same level here – that we both want the same thing. If I am to give myself to you, I need to be assured that you see me as something more than a lowly servant."

He couldn't believe this. She was denying him after confessing she wanted him? Perhaps he had given her too little credit after all. She was much more evil than he had thought her to be. Damn woman and their head games. They say one thing and mean something else. Had she been playing him for a fool the entire time as her own wicked form of revenge? Or was she simply trying to toy with his emotions like he had played with her?

"I'll leave you alone to think about what I just said, and deal with your… situation."

And just like that, the door unlocked, and Jupiter walked out. Cyrus attempted to leave himself so he could interrogate his other commanders, but the door locked on him. He suppressed a growl. No, he would not allow himself to become angered. "Mars… tell Charon to unlock the door, or I will-"

He heard her laugh. "Issuing threats, boss? Haven't you learned anything today?"

Cyrus drew in a deep breath. "Fine," he said, admitting defeat. Damn them. Damn them all. The girls laughed again, further wounding his already damaged pride. Who would've thought his commanders would get a victory over him?


End file.
